This post will be updated as we make our way back to Hanoi so it won't be finished for a while.
Our flights this summer were based on what was the cheapest, not the most convenient. This led to a 12 hour layover in Narita (Japan) and a 10 hour layover in LA before arriving in Redmond, Oregon. This was awful. The leg of the flight that was on JAL was fine, the American Airlines flight to LA was not. The US airlines have not caught up with the minor comforts on many of the Asian based airlines. It was a noticeable difference between the two carriers, but flying isn't fun either way.
Flying into our lovely little airport of Redmond, OR is often quite a bit more expensive that to fly into Portland and ask one of our mothers to drive 3.5 hrs to get us. It was cheaper this time with the new American Eagle direct flight to LA. However, we will be flying out of Redmond for every flight to Oregon in the future, even if it costs more.
For our 8 AM flight, we arrived at 6 AM like the good little travelers we are. 10 minutes later we were checked in without an additional charge for 2 bags being a few pounds over 50. The agent told us not to worry about it. (I think at 50lbs we are supposed to pay an extra $75 or something, and I've paid this on other airlines in the past, even with a 53lb bag). We had 1 person in front of us in line at security, so that took an entire 5 minutes. Then the TSA wanted to open our checked luggage, the agent found me, borrowed my keys for the locks and returned them a few minutes later. This is much more pleasant than when they chop the locks off, and Hanoi has a bit of a reputation for prowling through unlocked bags.
We are in LA now, just a quick terminal switch on a bus and we are waiting to board the flight to Narita. We did not have to re-check anything or swap over to the Tom Bradly International terminal where we would have done TSA security checks...LA style. Half of the headaches of traveling are getting checked in and through security. Redmond made these a non-issue. But I'm getting ready to be back in Asia, there are already about 50 people lined up to board our flight and there hasn't been a single boarding call. The day of relaxed and easy travel is over, and the fun of being pushed while waiting for a closed door to open begins.
We landed in Tokyo with the familiar "you're back in Asia" chorus of unclicking seatbelts as the wheels touch the tarmac. American airlines lived up to my low expectations with two meals that gracefully toed the line between airline food and a half attempted snack. I do forsee a good dinner on our JAL leg in an hour. AAir did improve on their drink service, bringing us water or other drinks a few times rather than the 1 time last month. We only had 2 hours in Narita but just had a great meal at normal airport prices. I haven't been into Japan in a long time, I really would love to spend a vacation here, maybe even utilize the 3 phrases I remember from 2 years of Japanese class.
We are looking forward to being in Hanoi, being home in a sense. Update to come tonight in about 7 hours.
Home at last. We found one downside to the short layovers, we didn't have enough time to walk around and our lower legs were a bit sore. I still preferred them to the extra long breaks.
Jeff
